Magpies are birds of the Corvidae (crow) family, including the black and white Eurasian magpie, which is one of the few animal species known to be able to recognize itself in a mirror test.[1] In addition to other members of the genus Pica, corvids considered as magpies are in the genera Cissa, Cyanopica and Urocissa. I am sharing this globe with these birds!

Monday, March 31, 2008

Not many may have noticed, or I may be wrong, but he has a very pleasant smile, not smug nor arrogant!

The stress is on the title of the tribute" A great Leader and Statesman"!

Following page after the cover!

There was this great leader and a statesman......hang on! He is still a great leader and people still listen to his wisdom. His name is Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad!But I still hate him for his choice of successor that has brought this country to a political ruin and but then again TO ERR IS HUMAN AND TO FORGIVE DIVINE!A found this nicely bound book on Tun and decided to have a go at it again and it occurred to me that for someone, somebody or some organization to have come out with a poignant narration of Tun from his humble beginning to what he has created for this country, and how Malaysians have a sense of identity in being Malaysian, is just great.We do not loathe him in real effect, nor do we view him with total disdain, or abandon his leadership when he was fighting for something as "vague" as trying to save the country's economy from being stripped bare by international financial robber barons such as George Soros, when a fake such as Anwar Ibrahim was ever ready to sell this country to the highest bidder. But, Tun Mahathir stuck to his nationalistic economic policy and we persevere.Today we persevere but we went to naught when his "successor" allows this country to be subdivided into fiefdom by his more shrewd and cunning evil people who see only money, and when greed possessed them.Once in Canada I was reeled into an emergency ward with a severe allergic reaction where I had to breath only through my mouth when my sinus passages had constricted. A young and beautiful South African doctor saw my nationality and she mentioned Tun Mahathir as the much loved and respected Third World leader by the South Africans.I thought I was going to die but when the name Mahathir was uttered by this beautiful brunette South African doctor with so much praise I was touched, I am going to say this for the first time, I cried. She placed her hand on my forehead and told my daughter, I still remember: "Your father will live and your Mahathir is a great man, he has as much responsible for dismantling apartheid in our mind."

Now then, I was thinking. If that were to happens to me again under Abdullah Ahmad Badawi, and any doctor were to utter his name, which I doubt that any doctor will care to do, I think my condition will worsen, or bad still I will die from further stress of the name being mentioned !!

But, the NST headline says "Apathy brings historical signpost to the ground", which is in reference to an incident whereby a 40 year old concrete slab at Ipoh-Lahat trunk road near Bukit Merah being smashed to the ground.This can only be done under the opposition ruling Perak, and can only be brought down by a front-loader machinery. Now Ipoh Barat DAP MP M. Kulasegaran said he would meet PWD officials and "request them to repair the signpost and erected it at proper place", but I will say the historical concrete slab to be erected at original place as it is is or may be slightly higher as not to impede vision of incoming vehicles..there was no such problem then and why so much now.

In Penang, DAP Chief Minister Lim Guan Eng said only the Federal Government can allow the "dismantlement" of the historical ferry-system that caries people from the mainland to the island, since time immemorial."Only the prime minister can decide," he said. You know what I suspect, prime minister's advisers will say: "Pak Lah buang kan lah saja ferry tu tak menguntungkan (Pak Lah scrapped the ferry doesn't make money)."And Pak Lah will tell Penang DAP Chief Minister:" Buang lah (Scraped it then).

Historical monuments and institutions are meant for people to understand their own background, money sometimes is not everything. Historical continuity and perspective is very, very important.

My vote is: The concrete slab near Ipoh-Lahat trunk road thet says Utamakan Bahasa Kebangsaan must be reinstated at original place, and Penang ferry must be maintain in order to maintain, at the least, the allure of the Pearl of the Orient".

Friday, March 28, 2008

Umno should have also decided on the prime minister's immediate resignation in order to save this country from further political deterioration, mental haywire, general chaos and total social upheaval!Former prime minister, Tun Dr Mahathir Mohammad, in so many words in his front page column which appeared in the Sun on Friday March 28 (Must read the column) clearly said the present prime minister has been rejected by big majority of Malaysians for being inept as a leader, and dangerous to the country's well being.He is undoubtedly the Clear and the Present Danger to this country well being and to this country well-entrenched racial relations and institutions.Tun said what had happened to Pak Lah had never happened before under the country's premiership of four previous prime ministers. CONCERNED MALAYSIANS SHOULD WONDER WHY!!!! Concerned Malaysians, in this case, also mean Umno members, and Umno Supreme Council members, and Umno Divisions heads and Branches, for heaven sake!!!

(Tun also said in his column there must be something dreadfully wrong why rulers rejected mentris besar proposed by BN leadership, in this case it is Pak Lah, and I said there must surely be something wrong for the Sultans to invoke certain procedure to express dismay and disdain over Pak Lah leadership as prime minister, does not take rocket scientist to figure this one out! )

Tun also said newly appointed Minister in the Prime Minister's Department cum de facto Law Minister, Datuk Zaid Ibrahim, as a dud and a hypocrite for saying the government or someone should apologies over the sacking of the former Lord President Tun Salleh Abbas and some judges, when he (Zaid ) in 1988 also supported the action to sack Salleh and six-judges!

After four fu$king years this prime minister admits for the first time in his pathetic life that he was wrong. The man that I once admired was nothing nothing more than just a dud, a bad ones!He admitted just now, only just now that "internet served as painful lesson" when Barisan Nasional (BN) lost the online war, and that this insipid little man said the newspapers, the print media , the television were important but young (and also middle age and old people you clod!) were looking at text messages and BLOGS!Point made and point taken, but is a case of too little but too late. Bloggers will continue to harangue him until he step or slip down into oblivion, which ever comes first! Bloggers will continue to be a weapon for the masses when it comes to check government injustice and misdeed, and to check on leaders insensitivity when discharging their duties.UMNO can cancel its general assembly or not hold it for all I care, but I suspect this party will cease to be if it insists on being belligerent and certain leader wants to cling to power. The longer it delays its assembly the more the country will be placed in a total disarray. Trust me on this, the majority of the opposition would love Umno not to hold its general assembly and for this country to be in disarray.This insipid prime minister is getting advises from the enemies of the country and the people surrounding him. BLOGGERS exercises more of your now-totally-recognized responsibility, and do not trust any overtures by the government. And beware of "bastards" in sheepskin!Attention Ahiruddin Atan aka ROCKYBRU also the protem president of ALL-BLOGS!! We do not need them then and surely we do not need them now!

Tuesday, March 25, 2008

Twelve BN assemblymen have signed sworn statements swearing their allegiance to the Sutlan of Terengganu, and eight PAS assemblymen are also willing to support the new mentri besar.My point is both the Prime Minister Dollah Ahmad Badawi and the new not so bright Foreign Minister Rais Yatim should have check their facts before making statements that could further be detrimental to Malay and Malaysian unity.But unless Rais is showing his typical Minangkabau double-speak with loaded messages, I think he might be referring to Pak Lah who might face a vote of non-confidence when parliament session will be on and after MPs being sworn in.The talk is after the parliament swearing in there will be a vote of non-confidence against Dollah Badawi, may be it is true may be it is a wishful thinking! Personally I wish it is true, for the sake of the people and the country, and especially for the Malays and the Sultans!It is not that I hate Dollah Badawi less but I love my king and my country more! I will die for the latter but I will not waste my time and my life for this POINTLESS PRIME MINISTER of ours!

Sunday, March 23, 2008

This is what newly appointed Minister in the Prime Minister's Department, Datuk Zaid Ibrahim said in the newspaper:

"I'm going to propose to the government that we apologise to (former Lord President) Tun Salleh Abbas and the judges who had been sacked...and to their families. It's clear to everyone, to the world, that serious transgressions had been committed by the previous administration."

In other words the previous government under Tun Mahathir Mohamad was brutal when sacking the then Lord President and therefore he must be punished and chastised. Zaid in not so many words claims and telling the whole wide world Abdullah Ahmad Badawi's regime is magnanimous and is out on his self-righteous path to correct where Mahathir has fucked-up! I am so tired of all these unworthy spins.

It is not as though Zaid is having an ala South Africa Truth and Reconciliation of forgive and forget program where White Apartheid regime fascist officers and ministers cried in a special court and in public admitting their guilt, at this special hearing they told the whole wide world they regretted killing the black Kafirs, and Nelson Mandela forgave them! Now that is being magnanimous!But, under the present regime and statement made by Dollah Badawi's new "guard dog" that truth must be told, BUT in this case someone must pay dearly for this, in this case it is Mahathir! This is not correcting the wrongs but plain Malay revenge, pure andf evil!

Saturday, March 22, 2008

Breaking News!The 21 Terengganu assemblymen headed by Datuk Rosol Wahid have agreed not to boycott the swearing in ceremony of the state new Mentri Besar! Bye bye Idris!

It is very clear that UMNO is in trouble! The latest is when all 20 Terengganu BN state assemblymen threatened to resign if Idris Jusoh is not made the Mentri Besar (MB). Meanwhile it is clear that the sultan did not want Idris and has already sworn in an assemblyman from Kijal to be the palace choice for MB!Lets go back a bit. There was a general elections and the opposition captured four states and one federal territory, while opposition made some headway in other states where BN won. The prime minister, Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi, won but with a reduced, much reduced, majority when his state of Penang went to the Chinese-dominated DAP!

Perlis sultan did not want the incumbent MB, Shahidan Kassim, to be an MB again and there was an attempt to discredit the ruler, but the ruler held steadfast and won by having his choice for the state MB. Shahidan relented and accepted his fate. Good for you!

Kelantan went back to PAS totally, when previously the party ruled only with a majority of one, while logic would have dictate BN, after pumping Federal money into the state, that it could or would have taken over the state! But BN, namely UMNO, failed miserably!

Selangor is now ruled by the opposition when a Reform party member is now the MB. Perak also has an opposition member as the MB, but not without the DAP firing a lot of salvo against the appointment of a Malay-Muslim as a choice to take charge of the state.

In a nut shell, UMNO is in a big trouble but the prime minister went on TV nationwide telling the people he has the support of the party and the people?! Who is he kidding!!The a senior UMNO member, Tengku Razaleigh, called for an UMNO Extraoordinary General Meeting (EGM) to discuss what went wrong and what remedy to be taken to correct the problem and to nurse the political injury suffered by UMNO!

But his call for EGM was censured by UMNO members with questionable reputation. One is Tengku Adnan Mansor, Rafidah Aziz and Hishamuddin Hussein. However, the party vice-president Muhyiddin Yassin said EGM can be called but it must be within the purview of party constitution.

You know what, if EGM were to be called for a post-mortem of the recent BN loss, it will surely comes to an agreement that the reason for such a loss was due to the inability of Abdullah Ahmad Badawi to steer this country in a more meaningful way. How much more irreparable damage must he inflict to the country before he resigns?!

How much more a wedge must he draw between the Rakyat and the Sultans before he admits that he is the cause of the country's predicament and UMNO's and BN's unpopularity before he step down and take full responsibility for his action?!!

Friday, March 21, 2008

Raza Nazrin advised leaders to learn from lessons of the past where empires, nations and monarchs were defeated due to complacency. I am sure he was alluding to the recent general elections that saw four states and the federal territory succumbed to the opposition parties.He said failed leaders became complacent, and they were misled by wrong advice or miscalculated their moves. He further said that while many were given the opportunity to lead, only few were successful in creating history and building civilisations. I am sure Malaysians are not that stupid not to realise to whom he was referring his statement to!!!

Then there is the arroganceof the newly appointed Umno sec-gen, Tengku Adnan Tengku Mansor, who has the insensitivity to tell senior Umno member Tengku Razaleigh Hamzah (TRH) not to create trouble for Umno by challenging the party's presidency, when the party is having serious internal problem already! More Umno members like TRH should speak up or forever hold your piece (not peace okay)!!! And Tengku Adnan stop threatening members, TRH challenges IS a mean to strengthen Umno!!

“Let’s focus more on strengthening our party from within to face our enemies outside and not cause break-ups among our ranks,” he told reporters after participating in a parade to celebrate Maulidur Rasul at the Putra Mosque here yesterday.

Tengku Adnan said this was particularly important when Barisan Nasional and Umno were facing the task of trying to reclaim the five states that had fallen to the Opposition in the recent general election.

On party elections, which must be held within this year, Tengku Adnan said a management committee meeting might be called next week to discuss the matter.

“The meeting must be called by the Umno deputy president and it will dwell on preparations for the party elections,” he said."

Thursday, March 20, 2008

Tun Dr Mahathir aggrieved with the political situation urges Ku Li to the rescue!

Ku Li can engage the Malay opposition when facing common enemies!

Hey people!

My deep cover source in Pak Lah's camp confirmed that this prime minister is feeling it so bad already to realize that his one wish to resign will not and can never be achieved, but unless he "drops" dead!"He is so, so afraid of his inner circle that he cannot even dare to utter the word resign," this source said. I was also told that when he found out Ku Li was going to mount a challenge him at the next Umno elections he started to wheeze.Other reliable source also told me it was Tun Mahathir who prompted Ku Li to mount a challenge on Dollah Badawi in view of the critical last general elections that saw BN component parties, which includes Umno, being defeated so bad that it prompted Ku Li to say, as quoted by the NST: "Haven't Umno members realised we've lost five states? Are they all still sleeping."Then Mahathir had met with Ku Li and it was then decided that the latter must challenge Dollah to save Umno and Malays from falling over into a political oblivion.Ku Li's camp said the post of the deputy president will not be touched as it will belong to Najib for sure!In view of this recent development, in supporting Ku Li, I have now decided to forgive Mahathir for his major faux pas in choosing Dollah Badawi as his deputy that have lead the country into a political turmoil where DAP has now the power to even ridicule the Malay sultanate system!

Monday, March 17, 2008

My favourite Walt Disney cartoon character is Dumbo he is likeable he has big ears he listens but cannot make head nor tail of what he was listening to. Dumbo is a a semi-anthropomorphicelephant who is cruelly nicknamed Dumbo. He is ridiculed for his big ears. And I have no idea why I am posting Dumbo, can some one tell me SVP!

You know I cannot help equating the fall of Nazi Germany under Hitler, when Hitler and his Nazi cohort sealed in a bunker on the last day of the fall of Berlin to the Allied forces, with the defeat of BN under Pak Lah.I still cannot fathom the fact that this Prime Minister has the temerity and the audacity to go on television nationwide as though nothing has happened.He drove BN to defeat and now he is trying desperately to pin the loss on something or someone else. He did not even make any sense when trying to explain "while BN loss he stills received strong support from BN members" very well.Now he cannot even be allowed to be criticized as though he is immune from any call for him to resign, for heaven sake the people tvoted him in and now the people want him out, simple as that. The writing is all over the place.But like Hitler on his final days, Pak Lah was ill advised not to step down or admit surrender.Like his Nazi cohort, Hitler were told victory is still possible until Hitler found out the air in the bunker was filled with carbon monoxide and less oxygen, he did the "rational thing", he took his own life.Hitler's defeat was due to his self-absorbing advisers who, for their own selfish interest or reason did not want him to admit defeat.I am not asking Pak Lah to take his own life like Hitler, but he must own up to his failure and must be answerable to the party members by resigning, and he must be brave enough to tell his advisers to go to hell, and to tell them that he loves this country and his Malays and Malaysians more than he does his ill-intention advisers. Even the Sultans and Raja are against him!Please do the honorable thing sir, you must RESIGN for the sake of this country!

Malaysian PM defiant despite fading prospects

Malaysian Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi has defiantly claimed a mandate to rule despite unprecedented election losses, but observers say he is on borrowed time as calls for his resignation persist.

"I will run the government. I'm in charge," Abdullah said in a television interview a week after his Barisan Nasional (BN) coalition was humbled by the loss of four states and a third of parliamentary seats.

"I do not believe that with a majority less than two-thirds we become incapable or incapacitated or we become lifeless and cannot do anything else," he said late Saturday.

After securing the support of his party, the United Malays National Organisation (UMNO) which leads the coalition, he has made plans to unveil a new cabinet and implement a series of mega-projects.

Abdullah admitted that Malaysians were disappointed with his administration, which was criticised as weak and unable to deliver on promises made ahead of 2004 polls which he won in a landslide.

"People are unhappy over what has transpired over the last four years since I took over," he said in another nationally broadcast interview Friday.

"I accept in good faith the decision of the people," he said, noting that seething racial tensions, inflation and rising crime rates had led to voters punishing him in the polls.

Just before Friday's address, the son of former premier Mahathir Mohamad wrote to Abdullah calling on him to quit, in the first open sign of revolt from within UMNO.

"I feel that Abdullah has to take responsibility for our losses and that the honourable thing to do is to withdraw," said Mukhriz Mahathir, who is a member of UMNO's powerful youth wing.

Mahathir has also pushed for Abdullah to step down, accusing him of "destroying" the ruling party and the coalition, and saying he regretted selecting him for the top job when he stood down in 2003.

Pressure on the premier is also coming from UMNO's rank-and-file who have signed up to a petition for him to quit posted on a pro-Mahathir website.

Anlaysts said Abdullah's days as prime minister are numbered and that if he refused to step down he would likely be challenged at UMNO's internal elections later this year.

"He's a lame duck prime minister," said Bridget Welsh, a Southeast Asia expert from Johns Hopkins University who observed the elections.

"The reality is the business community is looking at him and thinking, how long will he stay there, and the longer he stays it's going to introduce more uncertainty."

Farish Noor from the Rajaratnam School of International Studies in Singapore said Abdullah's government was punished for failing to deliver on its big reform promises in the last 2004 polls.

"Abdullah dug his own grave by promising more than he could chew on. He could have saved himself by delivering at least half of it," he told AFP.

"I strongly suspect that moves will be made at the upcoming UMNO general assembly to force Abdullah to step down."

The premier is expected to unveil a new cabinet within days, and observers are watching closely to see if his promises of a fresh new line-up will be realised.

Mohammad Agus Yusoff, a political analyst from the National University of Malaysia said the political upheaval should prompt Abdullah to make difficult reforms.

"He is on the right track if he is thinking of revamping the BN and its policies. The country will benefit from this scenario," he said.

Welsh said however that while investor confidence may be bolstered by fresh faces in the government, Abdullah may be exposing himself to further challenges.

"The minute he removes older faces he weakens himself further with more infighting and leadership challenges," she said."

Thursday, March 13, 2008

This young man is in a hurry and he is dangerous to Umno , BN and the country, as being shown at recent GE!

Do not know how far this is true but I heard Rembau MP Khairy Jamaluddin will be made the new Deputy Finance Minister by his Father-in-Law the Prime Minister! at the next Cabinet announcement!Now if this is true then Pa Lah has got to be the most insensitive prime minister this country has ever known! If this is true than the prime minister has given the word nepotism a new dimension!In retrospect, had he not allow his SIL to contest at the recent general elections the result could have been a slightly less harsher than it is now.If the prime minister appoint his SIL KJ to the position, hey any position for that matter since this guy has squat for experience!, then we can all say god bye to UMNO as a Malay party since many Malays will leave UMNO for sure!

This is what I gathered that a letter from Mukhriz Mahathir , CC to top leaders, will be sent to Pak Lah urging him to step down for the sake of the Bangsa, party and the country. I am hoping someone can come out with the letter! Rockybru! Are you on top of the situation, is there such letter por favor!!

Sunday, March 09, 2008

After Perak, Kedah, Selangor, Penang and Kelantan went to the opposition this weak Prime Minister has the audacity to say "I'm not resigning from any post. In fact, I am getting strong support, especially from Umno leaders."He is, for all intent and purposes, is delusional and he must look deep from within his own conscience, if he has any, to do the right thing that is to RESIGN! For the sake of UMNO, the Malays, and Malaysians, before this country falls to completely to chaos.

===================================================================

On Sunday, March 09, 2008

Resign, Lah. Dr Mahathir said yesterday's election result sends a clear message that the people are angry. "Not only the Malays are angry. The Chinese are angry. The Indians are angry. Malaysians are angry," he told a packed media conference at his Mines residence in KL.

Abdullah should take responsibility for the defeat.

Q. Would you resign if you were the PM?A. Yes, I would resign.

Q. But the BN loss heavily in 1999?A. We won then, we had two-thirds majority.

Mahathir started to rain on Abdullah's charade in 2005, after his successor started dismantling his pet projects, citing lack of funds. In 2006, after the media, especially Kalimullah Hassan's NSTP, started demonizing him, Dr M went all out to expose Abdullah.

Najib's resounding victory in Pekan and the performance of his homestate Pahang means that people accept the DPM, he said.====================================================================

I personally believe Pak Lah is a decent man but being held hostage by his SIL and he must muster all of what is left of his courage and snap out of it, he must not allow himself to be psychologically, mentally and physically terrorised by his ambitious SIL!

Saturday, March 01, 2008

Those days in Europe I have visited many vineyards and have tasted various types of wine grown in many regions in Europe. I have also seen how these wine barrels stacked to be matured tested then bottled to be sold worldwide. A long an tedious process to make these fine wine.I also remember in France when the wine industry there was shocked by unscrupulous wine makers out to make fast buck by "quickening" the pace of wine making by adding many unwanted chemical so the wine can be "matured" fast. In other words the reputation of France as a wine producer in Europe and the world was smeared at the cost of the country's economy when consumers in France and around the world were afraid to drink French wine let alone buying them. France dealt with the wine contaminators quite severely! They were jailed and made to pay hefty fines. Okay enough!My wife stumbled upon a Malaysian made wine. A "Chateau" Y T Chen, and the brand is Glen Morris, and being featured as Tropical Wine 1999, Natural Fruit Wine. Then there is a statement in Bahasa on the other side of the bottle which says "produced and bottled by a company here" and "at an address in Batu 6 Jalan Kelang Lama. It came in a normal 750ml wine bottle and contains 12.5 % alcohol.At the back it says "tropical wine made, the finest tropical fruit wine is produced by a blend of exotic tropical fruits....." I suspect the tropical fruit is dragon fruits which are grown extensively in the country where padi fields in Negeri Sembilan for example have been turned into Dragon Fruityards. There is also a seal of approval by the Malaysian government.However, Y T Chen's Glen Morris wine is for real there, is no doubt about it.But my concern is that"real" brand red or white wine, made out of real grapes can be easily faked. If we can fake other products like Roll-Royce airliners spare parts, drug like Panadol, Viagra, and even high blood pressure pills, trust me you can fake wine and wine labels, and you can never tell the difference.Looking at Glen Morris, it has a very attractive label, real wine bottle and sealed caps, and it is a real product. But one cannot help thinking since wine is a big industry in this country, some one can just fake other wine brand by buying concentrated fresh juice in bulk, add Ribena for example, then alcohol and let it sit for a while then bottle it somewhere in "Batu 7 Puchong" or anywhere else in the country. The scary part is these fake wines will be produced in a backyard without proper supervision.Fake wines can be done and fake attractive labels from famous Australian, South African and Chilean brands can be made here easily and trust me, again, you and I cannot tell the difference. Hey! If they can make fake money or even fake security papers, again trust me counterfeit wine labels is easy!So next time you stuffed up yuppies, and rich middle class bore take a sip of you "expensive" wines think fake for in a long run your liver can give in and you die. Sorry I cannot offer solution unless if you can migrate to France or other real wine producing countries!